Quinn wants unions back at table on McCormick Place changes

Gov. Pat Quinn today tried to pressure McCormick Place union leaders back to the negotiating table to consider work-rule changes, saying he'll call lawmakers back to Springfield in September to act if an agreement can't be reached.

The changes, put in place by the legislature last year and later tossed out by a federal court, allowed exhibitors to cut costs by doing more of their own work. Lawmakers want to see those changes stay in effect, Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont said after a strategy session on the issue Tuesday.

“Clearly the most optimal thing would be negotiations and the governor has agreed to get them back to the bargaining table,” she said.

Her comments came after a meeting called by Quinn, which included all four legislative leaders, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and convention officials.

Quinn spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said the governor will work with others “to build a consensus with unions to keep McCormick Place competitive and create jobs.”

The governor is expected to ask the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and Teamsters Local 727, the unions that successfully challenged the state-imposed rules, to participate in talks.

If that fails to materialize, Quinn will ask for the General Assembly to return for a special session on Sept. 13 to consider revised legislation aimed at keeping the work-rule changes in place.

Both unions have argued all along that the changes should have been negotiated, rather than imposed.

They have been asking for talks since U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman ruled earlier this year that the General Assembly did not have the right to impose rules on trade-show workers whose terms of employment are covered by federally protected negotiated contracts.

McCormick Place officials are appealing the federal court ruling.

House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego said swift action is essential in order to keep trade-show bookings.

“There’s a sense of urgency in that we don’t want to lose anybody,” he said. “We want to continue to keep the folks coming, and potentially new folks coming.”

One of the other major trade unions working at McCormick Place already has agreed to abide by the state-imposed labor rules. Under a new three-year pact, the Machinery Movers, Riggers & Machinery Erectors Local 136 agreed to follow the blueprint laid out by the General Assembly last year, with work-rule changes that allowed exhibitors to do more of their own booth set-up, and that limited overtime pay and crew sizes.

If lawmakers return to Springfield, they may consider drafting legislation that would make the convention hall workers public employees. That idea was floated earlier by Jim Reilly, the trustee overseeing McCormick Place operations.

Guzman’s ruling stated that the National Labor Relations Act pre-empts states from enacting legislation that interferes with the ability of private-sector employees to negotiate employment terms. Most trade union employees who set up and tear down shows work for private contractors.

Making them public workers could sidestep that legal issue, Reilly has said.